Penny Wars-An Act of Rememberance

By Kathryn Nichols

How many times have we said to ourselves that we will remember those who have passed away?

Youngsters at one rural California school are making sure no one forgets these names: Brenda Mercado and Ben Perez.

A few years ago, Brenda and Ben, both students at Aromas Elementary School, died within months of each other. Brenda had an inoperable brain tumor. Ben didn't survive a heart transplant.

To honor their memory, their fellow middle-schoolers raised money from the school's annual Penny Wars to buy a bench and a plaque with Ben and Brenda's names. The bench has been installed at the school and provides a comfortable resting place - somewhere to eat lunch, to tie a shoe, to just take a break.

Their friends just want to make sure everyone remembers them.

"Brenda was really into sports, like soccer and running," said her friend, Janet Plascencia. "She tried to make the best out of a lot of things."

Cousins Verenice and Elizeth Campos used to invite Brenda over to their house, and she was almost like one of the family. They say she loved animals, especially her dog, and wrestling on TV, especially the WWR and John Cena.

Ben's friend Stephen Hart said Ben was funny and he didn't get mad easily. "He liked to go outside and built stuff all the time. He rode quads," said Stephen.

Another friend, Marissa Carapinha, recalls what a nice person Ben was. "He had a big heart, and he always tried to help people whenever he could," she said. "I was praying and hoping that everything would go well with his surgery.

"I will remember him forever."

Each year, Aromas School has certain projects for its middle-schoolers. One of them is Penny Wars, where each middle grade competes to gather the most pennies and other change.

The money that goes into the penny containers is ultimately donated to a good cause. One year, Penny Wars raised money for tsunami victims; another year, the funds went to help those hurt by Hurricane Katrina.

The middle-schoolers make the decision about where the money should be used. And remembering Ben and Brenda was, to them, the right thing to do.

So here's a school lesson in which the kids taught themselves something. First of all, they learned that a few pennies can add up to a lot, if you keep saving them. And they learned that their actions can speak louder than words.

But the most important lesson of all: True friends are always worth remembering.